5th day after Epiphany

First Letter of John

Beloved: Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood. The Spirit is the one that testifies, and the Spirit is truth.
So there are three that testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and the three are of one accord.
If we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is surely greater. Now the testimony of God is this, that he has testified on behalf of his Son.
Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son.
And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
Whoever possesses the Son has life; whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you so that you may know that you have eternal life, you who believe in the name of the Son of God.

Psalms

Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke

It happened that there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was; and when he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I do will it. Be made clean." And the leprosy left him immediately.
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but "Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them."
The report about him spread all the more, and great crowds assembled to listen to him and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.

St. Léonie Aviat(Religious (1844-1914))

Saint Françoise De Sales (Léonie Aviat)Religious(1844-1914) Léonie Aviat was born on September 16, 1844, in Sézanne, Champagne, France. She attended school at the Monastery of the Visitation in the city of Troyes. There, Mother Marie de Sales Chappuis, the superior, and Father Louis Brisson, the chaplain, acted as her spiritual directors. Having thus been formed at the school of St. Francis de Sales, Léonie prepared herself for a future mission: founding a congregation based on Salesian spirituality and the evangelization of young workers. Léonie's vocation took shape in the milieu of the Industrial Revolution. In the city of Troyes, textile mills employed large numbers of young, rural women. Fr. Brisson, a forerunner of the great social movement that developed at the end of the 19th century, had opened a center in 1858 to welcome young textile workers: affording them a complete human and Christian education. Unable to find a suitable directress and stable supervisory staff for the center, known as the Oeuvre Saint-François de Sales, he decided, with God's inspiration, to establish a religious congregation. He found in Léonie Aviat an incomparable co-worker, in whom he discerned a vocation to the consecrated life as well. Upon completing her studies, Léonie left the Visitation Monastery with the firm intention of returning as a lay sister. However, Fr. Brisson and Mother Chappuis advised her to wait. Obedient to what she regarded as God's will, she received a special sign from Him, one that couldn't be mistaken for an illusion. An inspiration enlightened Léonie's mind and guided her to the factory where glasses were manufactured and repaired in Sézanne. The sight of young workers busily engaged kindled her desire to take her place among them in order to counsel and guide them. This attraction pressed her even more strongly the day Fr. Brisson invited her to visit the Oeuvre ouvrière. On April 18, 1866, Léonie joined the Oeuvre Saint-François de Sales, together with a former Visitation Monastery classmate, Lucie Canuet. On October 30, 1868, the young foundress was clothed with the religious habit and received the name Sister Françoise de Sales. In her personal notes, she wrote, "St. Francis de Sales, you have chosen me to be at the head of this little group; give me your spirit, your heart... Grant me a share of your union with God and of that interior spirit which knows how to do everything in union with Him and nothing without Him" (August, 1871). The "little group" that she guided placed itself under the protection of the saintly Bishop of Geneva and adopted his method of spirituality and pedagogy. Hence the name it chose for itself: the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales, which means, "offered to God and to neighbor by means of their whole life." On October 11, 1871, Sister Françoise de Sales professed her vows. The following year, she was elected Superior General of the new congregation, which was thus canonically established and able to expand rapidly. Under her guidance, the community grew in numbers and the social apostolate developed. At the same time, grade schools were opened in parishes. In Paris, the first boarding school for young ladies was opened. The apostolate of the Oblate Sisters extended to the different classes of society and to all forms of education, and to the missions ad gentes as well. In 1893, after a period of effacement that brought to light her humility, Mother Françoise de Sales was again elected Superior General: an office she held until her death. During this time, she endeavored to develop the Congregation in Europe, South Africa and Ecuador. She lavished her untiring solicitude on every community and on each of her Sisters. She also coped with the persecution of religious orders in France in 1903. While maintaining the houses of her Congregation that could be kept in France, she transferred the mother house to Perugia, Italy. In 1911, she secured Pope St. Pius X's approbation of the Institute's constitutions. On January 10, 1914, Mother Françoise passed away in Perugia, serenely entrusting herself to God. To the very end, she remained faithful to her resolution at the time of her profession: "To forget myself entirely." To her daughters in every age, she left this very Salesian precept: "Let us work for the happiness of others." She was beatified on September 27, 1992, and canonized by Pope John Paul II on November 25, 2001.

St. William of Bourges(Archbishop († 1209))

SAINT WILLIAM Archbishop( 1209) William Berruyer was from the ancient counts of Nevers. He was educated by Peter the Hermit, the archdeacon of Soissons, who was an uncle from his mother's side. William learned to reject worldly vanity and human errors (hedonism, materialism, consumerism and more). He thought only lightly of pleasure, delighted in the norms of piety, and studied with diligence and supernatural intent. William was made a canon in Soissons and then in Paris. He entered monastic life in Grandmont and joined an austere order. Later, he joined the Cistercians. He was chosen as prior of the Abbey of Pontigny and afterward abbot of Chaalis. When Archbishop Henri de Sully of Bourges passed away, William was chosen to succeed him. However, William was reluctant to accept the position. He was compelled to accept it by the pope and the abbot of Citeaux, his general. Archbishop William's first care was praying (which consists of listening and placing oneself in the presence of God). He denied himself physical comforts with supernatural intention. He performed penances for himself and others. He also wore a hair-shirt under his religious habit and never added to his clothing in winter. He never ate meat, but had it at his table for guests. When Archbishop William was dying, he asked to be laid on ashes in his hair-cloth. In this state, he passed away on January 10, 1209. His body was interred in his cathedral, and being honored by many miracles, was taken up in 1217. He was canonized by Pope Honorius III the following year.

Bl. María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña(Foundress (1848-1918))

Blessed María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña (1848-1918) Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña was born in Velez Rubio, Almería, Spain, on December 30, 1848, the fourth of seven siblings. Her parents, Tomas Rodríguez Sopeña and Nicolasa Ortega Salomon, had moved from Madrid to Velez Rubio for work. Dolores grew up in Andalucía where her father worked as a magistrate. Even though he was transferred often, she described this time of her life as a "lake of tranquility." In 1866, her father was appointed as the judge of Almería. Dolores was 17 years old and was formally introduced to society, though she did not relish the parties. She was more interested in works of mercy. Dolores' first apostolic experience was attending materially and spiritually to two sisters who had typhoid fever and to a leper. She did not disclose her activities to her parents out of fear they would prevent her from continuing. She also visited the poor of Saint Vicent de Paul with her mother. Three years later, the family moved to Madrid when her father was sent to Puerto Rico. Dolores chose a spiritual advisor and began teaching Catechism to women in prison, Sunday schools and at the Princess Hospital. In 1872, the family reunited in Puerto Rico. Dolores was 23 and would remain in the Americas till she was 28. When she encountered the Jesuits, Father Goicoechea became her spiritual advisor. She founded the Association of the Sodality of the Virgin Mary, schools for the disadvantaged, and taught reading, writing and catechism. In 1873, her father was appointed as the state attorney of Santiago de Cuba. Those were difficult times because of a religious schism on the island. Dolores was only permitted to visit the sick at a military hospital. She requested admission to the Sisters of Charity, but her poor eyesight - from an eye operation at the age of 8 - disqualified her. When the schism ended, Dolores founded the Centers of Instruction in an impoverished neighborhood. The center provided catechism, basic education and medical assistance. Eventually, three centers were opened in different neighborhoods. When Dolores' mother passed away, her father retired and moved the family back to Madrid in 1877. Dolores focused on apostolic work, spiritual life and caring for her father. She chose a spiritual director and annually participated in Saint Ignatius Spiritual Retreat. When her father passed away in 1883, she struggled with her vocation. She entered a Salesian convent upon her director's advice, but left after 10 days. She then gave her full attention to apostolic work. In 1885, Dolores opened a center similar to modern social work centers. After visiting a woman who had just been released from prison, she became acquainted with the neighborhood of the Injurias. When she saw the moral and material poverty of its people, she began visiting the neighborhood every week and invited her friends to help her with the work. Thus, she founded the Works of the Doctrines, later named Center for the Workers. In 1892, at the suggestion of the bishop of Madrid, D. Ciríaco Sancha, Dolores founded the Association of the Apostolic Laymen (today known as the Sopeña Lay Movement). The following year, she expanded the work to eight neighborhoods. She began activities outside Madrid in 1896 and took 199 trips within four years to establish and consolidate the Works of the Doctrines. In 1900, Dolores joined a pilgrimage to celebrate the Holy Year in Rome. She attended a retreat at Saint Peter's tomb and received approval to establish a religious institute for the Works of Doctrines. Cardinal Sancha, then Archbishop of Toledo, proposed founding it at his city. Dolores' institute was called the Ladies of Catechistical Institute. It was founded on September 24, 1901, after Dolores and eight companions completed the Spiritual Exercises in Loyola. On October 31 in Toledo, they started living as a religious community. In 1905, they received the Degree of Praise from the Holy See. Today, the Institute is known as the Sopeña Catechetical Institute. During those years, Dolores' Works of the Doctrines changed to Centers for Workers' Instruction. They sought to accommodate workers who were influenced by anti-clerical sentiments and did not wear outward signs of religion. These changes were made to get close to the workers who were "alienated from the church" and were unable to receive cultural, moral or religious instruction. Dolores' faith and spirituality motivated her to serve others. She personally experienced God's tenderness, Who loves us infinitely and wishes for us to live as sons and brothers and sisters. Dolores had a great desire to "Make of all one family in Christ Jesus." It was uncommon to find a woman who would go out to work in the poor neighborhoods; Dolores' fearlessness was inspired by her deep faith and confidence without limit. It was her greatest treasure and made her feel that she was an instrument of God's will. In 1910, Dolores' community celebrated the first general chapter and reelected her as superior general. In 1914, they founded a community in Rome; and in 1917, they opened their first house in the Americas. The following year, on January 10, 1918, Dolores passed away in Madrid. Talk had already began of her being a saint. On July 11, 1992, Pope John Paul II pronounced the heroism of Dolores' life. On April 23, 2002, he verified a miracle attributed to her intercession and beatified her. Currently, the Sopeña Family, encompasses three institutes: the Sopeña Catechetical Institute, the Sopeña Lay Movement and the Sopeña Social and Cultural Work. They are in Spain, Italy, Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2025 / Catholic Missal of january 2025